Meta’s workforce is unraveling. After slashing 8,000 jobs, the company’s AI ambitions collided with employee fury. The latest attempt to rally the troops—a companywide AI hackathon—backfired spectacularly.

Employees are stretched thin. Covering for laid-off colleagues, they face repetitive, uninspiring tasks. Instead of building new features, many are stuck generating puzzles to train AI models. The work drains purpose and morale.

The hackathon, meant to spark innovation, landed like a lead balloon. Staff flooded internal channels with sarcasm and outright refusal. They don’t have time for side projects that won’t count toward performance reviews. “I’m literally keeping the lights on,” one wrote.

Worse, many feel trapped. Engineers reassigned to the Applied AI team describe it as a “gulag” of mechanical, soul-crushing work. They were drafted with no choice—join or leave. The team’s growth feels like waves of shock for new members.

This chaos unfolded amid a keystroke-tracking program that feeds AI training data. Thousands signed a petition against it, fearing they’re building the tech that will replace them. Internal distrust runs deep.

Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged mistakes in a memo but promised stability and no more mass layoffs this year. He defended the AI team’s importance and hinted some might move to other roles eventually. That’s cold comfort to staff drowning in drudgery.

The company’s AI race is stumbling. Meta’s new models lag behind rivals like ChatGPT and Claude. Internal frustration isn’t just about workloads—it’s a crisis of purpose and trust. Employees question if the company still supports innovation or just survival.

Meta’s leadership seems tone-deaf. Offering permanent desks to workers long stuck in “hot desk” limbo sounds more like a consolation prize than a solution. The hackathon’s failure exposed a culture stretched beyond breaking.

The AI revolution Meta chases demands talent and creativity. Instead, it faces burnout, cynicism, and an angry workforce. If morale doesn’t improve, the company risks losing its best minds to competitors who still inspire.

Meta’s story is a cautionary tale: massive layoffs and forced cultural resets rarely breed innovation. Without trust and meaningful work, AI dreams turn into bureaucratic nightmares. For now, frustration rules the day at Meta.